- The San Jose City Council voted to approve a new quick-build housing development for the unhoused.
- Silicon Valley billionaire John Sobrato will lease 2 acres of private land to the city at $1 a year.
A Bay Area billionaire is offering his private land to the city of San Jose, California, for a $1 annual lease in an effort to tackle the area's homelessness.
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve development on Via Del Oro, a 150-bed, solar-powered interim housing complex for the unhoused.
Silicon Valley philanthropist John Sobrato told the San Jose Spotlight he approached the city about two acres of land he owns that have been unused for 30 years after watching the homelessness issue deteriorate in recent years. The land is located in an industrial area close to a bus line and the interstate, according to NBC Bay Area.
Sobrato ultimately agreed to lease the land for a five-year lease at just $1 a year as construction on the project gets underway.
Last night, less than 2 weeks after our big win at VTA, we approved another site in South San Jose — providing homes for an additional 150 people currently living on our streets! This site, located on Via Del Oro in Edenvale, is unique because it’s on private land and designed to… pic.twitter.com/bjUpJn0xbD
— Mayor Matt Mahan (@MattMahanSJ) October 18, 2023
San Jose, which is home to just under a million people, is the most expensive city in California, according to a Cost of Living Index published by the Council for Community and Economic Research each quarter.
The city and surrounding area have become the epicenter of Silicon Valley tech culture, contributing to a shortage of affordable housing that has left thousands of people without a home. A 2023 Point-in-Time homeless census released earlier this year found at least 6,340 people were homeless in San Jose, local media reported.
The quick-build development will be home to 75 mobile and solar-powered two-bed "cabins" that are built to last for 10 to 15 years, according to local outlets.
Via Del Oro is unique in its flexible locale. The cabins are set to sit on Sobrato's land only temporarily and can be moved to a new location after the original five-year lease is up, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a Wednesday tweet.
Mahan told the Spotlight that there are hundreds of acres of land throughout the city that could become the site's next home in five years' time.
The project is "especially exciting," Mahan tweeted, because it allows the city to "test a new approach that could help get privately-owned but currently unused private land off the sidelines and into the effort to end homelessness in San Jose."
Via Del Oro is set to be built in south San Jose and slated to be finished by the middle of next year, local media reported. Unhoused residents in the area will be given priority access to the cabins.
City officials have recommended the site include centralized bathrooms for cost-saving purposes and ease of future relocation, according to the Spotlight. The development will also include shared kitchens and laundry rooms, outdoor seating, and a parking lot, as well as additional buildings that will provide services such as workforce training and substance abuse assistance, the outlet reported.
While Sobrato is leasing the land at a steal, the project is still expected to cost the city about $18 million, NBC reported.
Sobrato, who is the founder of Sobrato Organization, a real estate and philanthropy network, is estimated to be worth $5.3 billion, according to Forbes.
San Jose City Council representatives did not return Insider's request for comment.